Validation of call processing network performance

ABSTRACT

A call processing network performance verification and validation system and test methodology. The call processing network implements Internet Protocol (IP) subnet topology, ATM WAN configuration, equipment placement, and device configuration to provide partitioning of a call processing application across multiple sites. The partitioning reduces latency for mission critical messages, while providing for necessary provisioning traffic needs. Further, the overall topology provides the redundancy and resiliency necessary for mission critical call processing application, utilizing the IP subnets, ATM permanent virtual circuits, network device configuration, and server segregation to achieve Quality of Service (QoS). The validation testing method and system proves out the various segregated routes, verifies subnet integrity and measures total latency and data path traversal in a verifiable manner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The following patent application is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 09/444,099 entitled NETWORK ARCHITECTURE ANDCALL PROCESSING SYSTEM filed Nov. 22, 1999.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to call processingnetwork design architectures, and particularly, to a test system andmethodology for verifying performance of an IP based LAN/WAN networkarchitecture implementing Internet Protocol (IP) subnet topology,Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) WAN configuration, and network devicesconfigured for partitioning a call processing application acrossmultiple LAN sites.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] There exist many types of networks and shared informationcommunications systems. From a hierarchical standpoint, networktopologies typically comprise a plurality of local area networks (LANs),such as Ethernet, which, depending upon the amount of users, locationand amount of traffic, may be further interconnected locally with ahigh-speed backbone network, such as backbone fiber distributed datainterface (FDDI), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) backbonenetworks. Multiple LANs owned by a single entity and geographicallydispersed, may be interconnected via wide area networks (WANs) for longdistance information transport. Such WAN transport technologies mayinclude dial-up private networks, switched digital services,leased-lines, packet-switching and frame-relay services, cell relay, andpublic packet-switched network such as the Internet. It is understoodthat each type of network is capable of carrying different types ofinformation: data, voice, multimedia including audio and video data. Asknown, ATM networks in particular, are connection oriented and capableof achieving certain quality of service (QoS) guarantees so that data,e.g., video, is transported across networks to their destinations in atimely manner. Other QoS guarantees include bandwidth control,prioritization of selected traffic, and traffic security.

[0004] In the telecommunications industry, there exist many types ofcall processing networks and network topologies for carrying prevalenttypes of traffic such as real-time call processing traffic, e.g., fortoll-free number calls, and ATM provisioning traffic, e.g., for othertypes of prioritized traffic. Each of these traffic types have differinglatency and processing requirements. In order to meet these differingrequirements, it is advantageous to provide an overall network topologythat is physically and logically partitioned to enable trafficsegregation within a LAN and WAN, as desired, such that specific traffictypes may be segregated to specific interfaces on network devices, andthat specific traffic types may be delivered in the most missionefficient manner.

[0005] Furthermore, current call processing network/system validationtechniques comprise server to server validation, or validation ofnetwork device to network device latencies and paths. Consequently, itis highly desirable to provide a comprehensive system and methoddesigned to verify that an IP based LAN/WAN network architectureimplementing Internet Protocol (IP) subnet topology, AsynchronousTransfer Mode (ATM) WAN configuration, and network devices configuredfor partitioning a call processing application across multiple LANsites, meets latency requirements and routes data as required by afunctional call processing application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Commonly owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/444,099 describes a novel call processing and call trafficprovisioning network architecture that includes an IP based networkLAN/WAN design implementing Internet Protocol (IP) subnet topology thatmay be configured to provide redundancy, reduce latency for missioncritical call processing messages, and provide for all necessary trafficprovisioning needs. Particularly, the aforementioned call processing andprovisioning network topology makes use of subnets, so that traffic maybe segregated within a LAN/WAN as desired and allowing for theassignment of specific traffic types to specific interfaces on networkdevices, e.g., allowing traffic to be directed to specific permanentvirtual circuits (PVCs) in an ATM WAN. Each PVC is to be furtherconfigured using priority rate queuing enabling delivery of specifictraffic types in the most mission efficient manner.

[0007] The present invention is directed to a system test andmethodology for validating the performance of the novel IP based networkLAN/WAN design implementing Internet Protocol (IP) subnet topology.Preferably, the system integrates server to server routing, modeling theapplication's data route through an application network, in combinationwith the LAN/WAN network's routing, through subnets, to verify subnetintegrity, total latency, and data path traversal in a verifiablemanner. Particularly, the method of the invention validates the roundtrip latencies by traversing each application server in the designatedroutes and order, as well as traversing the required network devices.The transition between subnets and the validation of network deviceconfigurations is proved out as well.

[0008] Thus, in accordance with the invention, there is provided asystem and method for validating a telecommunications call processingnetwork comprising: a call processing network including a variety ofapplication servers and network devices for simulating handling of callprocessing traffic along first segregated routes comprising one or moresubnets between associated network devices, and handling of callprovisioning traffic along second segregated routes comprising one ormore subnets, the first and second segregated routes segregatedaccording to call traffic latency requirements; test tool capable ofcommunicating test information packets along selected segregated routesin the call processing network; and a mechanism for measuring round triplatencies of communicated packets along the selected segregated routes,whereby internetwork and intranetwork latency and subnet integrity forsimulated packet traffic is verified.

[0009] Advantageously, the method and system of the invention may beused for the validation of call processing networks and applications andparticularly, of any system involving servers and network devices in aLAN/WAN. Thus, call processing networks may be validated prior to thembeing built.

[0010] The various features of novelty which characterize the inventionare pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forminga part of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its use,reference should be had to the drawings and descriptive matter in whichthere are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 illustrates the NIP LAN/WAN architecture of the invention.

[0012]FIG. 2 illustrates the primary functional components of each ofthe production LANs depicted in FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 3 illustrates the benchmark topology 400 for testing the NIPLAN/WAN production site (of FIG. 2) according to the invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 illustrates the NPT tool 500 comprising one or moreprocesses running on one or more host servers, e.g., DEC alpha, andincluding NPT tool initiator and daemon processes.

[0015]FIG. 5(a) depicts an example logical test configuration between acommunications server and a transaction over a call processing FDDI ringaccording to the invention.

[0016] FIGS. 5(b) and 5(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times according to thetest configuration of FIG. 5(a) with a delay option (FIG. 5(b)) andno-delay option (FIG. 5(c)).

[0017]FIG. 6(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for verifyingsuccessful packet transfer from a communications server to an advancedtransaction server according to the invention.

[0018] FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times according to thetest configuration of FIG. 6(a) with a delay option (FIG. 6(b)) andno-delay option (FIG. 6(c)).

[0019]FIG. 7(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for verifyingsuccessful packet transfer from a communications server (CS) to a globaldata server (GDS) according to the invention.

[0020] FIGS. 7(b) and 7(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times according to thetest configuration of FIG. 7(a) with a delay option (FIG. 7(b)) andno-delay option (FIG. 7(c)).

[0021]FIG. 8(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for verifyingsuccessful real-time call processing packet transfer from a CS to aremote GDS over a WAN according to the invention.

[0022] FIGS. 8(b) and 8(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times according to thetest configuration of FIG. 8(a) with a delay option (FIG. 8(b)) andno-delay option (FIG. 8(c)).

[0023]FIG. 9(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for verifyingsuccessful provisioning packet transfer from a transaction server to astatistics over a provisioning FDDI ring according to the invention.

[0024] FIGS. 9(b) and 9(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times according to thetest configuration of FIG. 9(a) with a delay option (FIG. 9(b)) andno-delay option (FIG. 9(c)).

[0025]FIG. 10(a) illustrates the logical test configuration forverifying successful packet transfer from a front end data server to aback end data server over the a PVC on a WAN according to the invention.

[0026] FIGS. 10(b) and 10(c) illustrate the packet delay resultsincurred for the example tests of measuring the round trip timesaccording to the test configuration of FIG. 10(a) with a delay option(FIG. 10(b)) and no-delay option (FIG. 10(c)).

[0027]FIG. 11(a) illustrates the logical test configuration forverifying successful packet transfer from a statistics server to areport server (RS) over the WAN according to the invention.

[0028] FIGS. 11(b) and 11(c) illustrate the packet delay resultsincurred for the example tests of measuring the round trip timesaccording to the test configuration of FIG. 11(a) with a delay option(FIG. 11(b)) and no-delay option (FIG. 11(c)).

[0029] FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b) illustrate the path latency results when anexample CPFR high load LAN real-time traffic benchmark test is run witha delay option (FIG. 12(a)) and without the delay option (FIG. 12(b))according to the invention.

[0030] FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) illustrate the path latency results when anexample LAN High Load provisioning traffic benchmark test is run with adelay option (FIG. 13(a)) and without the delay option (FIG. 13(b))according to the invention.

[0031] FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) illustrate the path latency results when anexample PFR WAN Real-Time High Load provisioning traffic benchmark testis run with a delay option (FIG. 14(a)) and without the delay option(FIG. 14(b)) according to the invention.

[0032] FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) illustrate the path latency results when anexample WAN Real-Time High Load provisioning traffic benchmark test isrun with a delay option (FIG. 15(a)) and without the delay option (FIG.15(b)) according to the invention.

[0033] FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) illustrate the path latency resultsincurred when an example WAN Statistics High Load traffic test is runwith a delay option (FIG. 16(a)) and without the delay option (FIG.16(b)).

[0034]FIG. 17 illustrates a logical test configuration 400 for a DualNIC Impact test according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0035]FIG. 1 illustrates the Network Intelligent Peripheral “NIP”topology 100 as described in commonly-owned, co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/444,099, the contents and disclosure of which isincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As shown in FIG.1, the “NIP” topology 100 includes a private ATM backbone WAN 105 and/orbackup ATM WAN 105 a comprising one or more BPX ATM switches for linkingthree or more distinct LAN network sites 200 a-200 c. The ATM WAN105/back-up ATM WAN 105 a implements private point-to-point ATM linksdepicted in FIG. 1 as links 110 a-110 c between the respective NIP LANsites 200 a-200 c, respectively. The Hot Standby Backup Network (HSBN)106 is implemented as a backup network, for connectivity to themonitoring command system (MCSS) 115, as well as other System/Networkmanagement sites 120. As will be hereinafter described in greaterdetail, each NIP LAN site 200 a-200 c comprises: a real-time callprocessing LAN, a provisioning LAN, and the Intelligent Peripheral LAN.As will be described, with the NIP network topology 100 depicted in FIG.1, network latencies are minimized to meet Statement of NetworkRequirements (SONR) for real-time traffic, in particular that trafficwhich must traverse the WAN.

[0036] Although the LAN configuration of the different sites may vary,FIG. 2 illustrates the general configuration of each network intelligentperipheral (“NIP”) LAN site, e.g., LAN site 200 a. As shown in FIG. 2,the LAN site 200 a includes a real-time call processing LAN, such asimplemented by a Call Processing FDDI Ring (“CPFR”) 217, and aprovisioning LAN, such as implemented by a Provisioning FDDI Ring(“PFR”) 247. As will be explained herein in greater detail, the PFR 247is physically split between two or more provisioning GeoLAN hubs 260 andtwo or more provisioning LAN GIGAswitches 250 with the GeoLAN hubscomprising traditional FDDI ring technology, while the GIGAswitches 250are non-blocking, cross-bar switched and exploited for their higherbandwidth (as compared to the standard FDDI implementation). The FDDIports on both the CPFR and the PFR are dual homed such that the “A” portof a given FDDI port is connected to one hub of a given ring, while the“B” port is connected to the other hub of that ring 247. Thisconfiguration ensures that the loss of any given hub does not bring downthe ring. Additionally, each LAN site may include the following systems:

[0037] 1) two or more communication servers 220 (“CS”) for providingsimultaneous communications services, e.g., transfer files, accessinformation on systems or networks, for one or more users on thenetwork, and which may comprise a DEC Alpha Server 4100 having a digitalUNIX operating system, and, interfaced with mass storage devices (notshown) and the call processing FDDI 217;

[0038] 2) two or more Memory Channel Hubs (TS/OCS) 202 which includeCCMAA cards for interfacing with a bus and enabling direct memory datatransfer between systems;

[0039] 3) two or more transaction servers (“TS”) 204 for brokering callrequests for call routing information and sending the information backto the CS, and which may comprise a DEC Alpha Server 4100 having adigital UNIX operating system, and, interface with mass storage devices(not shown), the call processing FDDI 217, the provisioning FDDI ring247, and memory channel hubs via CCMAA memory channel cards (not shown).Preferably, each TS 201 has three FDDI ports (fta0, fta1 & fta2) andeach ATS 205 has two FDDI ports (fta0 and fta1). Assuming fta0 (and fta1for the TS) is connected to the CPFR 217 and fta1 (fta2 for the TS) areconnected to the PFR 247 for each server. This port split allows allreal-time traffic to be prioritized by the server out to the real-timering, while provisioning traffic is directed to the provisioning ring.Thus, different traffic types are segregated physically as well aslogically, placing real-time bandwidth demands where appropriate. Themultiple interfaces for the TS 204 on the same FDDI ring are due toDigital UNIXs' inability to handle multiple subnets on the same physicalinterface;

[0040] 4) two or more Advanced Transaction Servers (“ATS”) 205 whichperforms as the TS, however, provides more complicated services;

[0041] 5) two or more global data servers (“GDS”) 295 which provide callrouting information to the TS & ATS and, which may additionally providecall routing information across the WAN to other sites. These serversmay comprise a DEC Alpha Server 4100 having a digital UNIX operatingsystem, and, interfaced with mass storage devices (not shown), the callprocessing FDDI 217, and an associated memory channel hub 298 via CCMAAmemory channel cards (not shown);

[0042] 6) two or more Overload Control Servers 210 which provide a busysignal for calls as the application approaches overload of it's callcapacity. These servers may comprise a DEC Alpha Server 4100 having adigital UNIX operating system, and, interface with mass storage devices(not shown), the call provisioning FDDI ring 247, and memory channel viaCCMAA memory channel cards (not shown);

[0043] 7) two or more Back End Data Servers (“BEDS”) 225 a for back upsand provisioning data, and two or more Front End Data Servers (“FEDS”)225 b for back ups and provisioning data. Each of these systems maycomprise a DEC Alpha Server 4100 having a digital UNIX operating system,interface with mass storage devices (not shown), and interface with theprovisioning LAN Gigaswitches 250;

[0044] 8) two or more Statistics Servers (“SS”) 230 which gather callstatistics from the TS & ATS servers and which may comprise a DEC AlphaServer 4100 having a digital UNIX operating system, interface with massstorage devices (not shown), and interface with the provisioning LANGigaswitches 250;

[0045] 9) two or more Alarm Collection Processors (“ACP”) 240 whichgather the application alarms from throughout the application space andwhich may comprise a DEC Alpha Server 1200 having a digital UNIXoperating system, interface with mass storage devices (not shown), andinterface with the provisioning FDDI ring;

[0046] 10) two or more Alarm Distribution Processors (“ADP”) 235 whichtake the gathered alarms and displays them to various operationalpersonnel and, which may comprise a DEC Alpha 4100 Server having adigital UNIX operating system, interface with mass storage devices (notshown), and interface with the provisioning FDDI ring;

[0047] 11) two or more Terminal Servers 245 which provide a plurality ofports available for system console port connectivity and may comprise aDECServer 700;

[0048] 12) an NIP Manager 264 which may comprise a DEC Alpha 4120 Serverhaving a digital UNIX operating system, and provided with systems forinterfacing with mass storage devices (not shown);

[0049] 13) an NIP Manager Onsite 266 which may comprise a DEC Personalworkstation having a digital UNIX operating system, and associateddisplays and systems for interfacing with mass storage devices (notshown) and the ethernet LAN 219;.

[0050] 13) two or more Openview Servers 248 such as provided by HewlettPackard (HP) which provide network management system functionality;

[0051] 14) two or more sets of GeoLAN Hubs 270 which provide for theconfiguration and monitoring of the GeoLAN Call Processing FDDI hubs217;

[0052] 15) one or more routers 280 such as router models 7507manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. for routing control calls to theHSBN MPRN (MCSS Host) from the LAN site, e.g., site 200 a;

[0053] 16) a firewall 285 providing secure interface between the router280 and the GIGAswitch 250 of the LAN site;

[0054] 17) two routers 290 such as router models 7513 Routersmanufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. which provide an interface to theprivate ATM backbone WAN 105 and/or backup ATM WAN 105 a. Preferably,permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) are provisioned from the router 285 toBPX switches (not shown) in the ATM backbone which use the full 155 Mbpsbandwidth of the BPX switch. However, no traffic shaping is done in therouter—rather, the BPX switches shape the traffic over the PVCs as willbe hereinafter described in greater detail. The Cisco 7513 routers' FDDIinterfaces utilize the Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) availablefrom Cisco System Inc. and described in a product bulletin availablefrom Cisco Systems, the contents and disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference, to provide for failover to the standby routerin case of a LAN port failure, either on the router or on a hub. Thisprotocol goes into effect when the LAN connection is lost, and fails themission traffic flow over to the standby router. Use of HSRP isnecessitated by the slow recover times of RIP or Interior GatewayRouting Protocol (IGRP), relative to NIP mission requirements. Moreover,the Cisco 7513 routers utilize the Enhanced Interior Gateway RoutingProtocol (EIGRP) on the ATM OC-3 interfaces to the BPX switches toprovide for failover routing in the event of interface or link loss tothe switches. The failure of one inter BPX link out of the two causesthe switch to route all traffic over the remaining link, using theminimum specified bit rates for each PVC. Loss of all inter BPX links onone site to site path switch forces EIGRP protocol to route data via theother switch at the site. Referring back to FIG. 1, if all site to sitepathways for all switches at a site are lost, the traffic is routed overthe HSBN WAN depicted as WAN cloud 106. This option requires the totalisolation of the site's private WAN links, i.e., the severing of threeE-3 links. Preferably, Available Bit Rate (ABR) guarantees that thereal-time ATS-GDS link is the first recovered, i.e., the ATS-GDS link isapportioned whatever bandwidth there is, so in the context of arecovering set of links on a switch, this link comes back first. Notethis only applies to ATS-GDS links to be established across the WANbetween sites, not the Call Processing LAN 217 at a site.

[0055] Other types of equipment that may be included at a LAN siteinclude a network printer 236 connected with Ethernet LAN 219; a reportserver (“RS”) 292 for gathering statistical data from statistics serverson call services information; and, an IP voice provisioning box (VPB)294.

[0056] A detailed description of the operation of the NIP network isfound in aforementioned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/444,099. As described, the suite of servers in each given ring (CPFR217 & PFR 247) are each dual homed; further, half of the servers of agiven contingent (e.g., the CS's) are connected to one card in the givenhub, while the other half is connected to another card in the hub. Thus,network architecture is enabled to maintain a mission capability, albeitdegraded, in case a given card in the two hubs has failed. To supportthis configuration, the architecture employs a Spanning Tree Protocol(STP) (proprietary to Cisco Systems, Inc.) which must be turned off toprevent failover times in excess of 45 seconds. With STP off, failovertimes are less than three seconds. Additionally, with STP off, the LANtopology must avoid loops involving the GIGAswitches, lest a networkloop be created.

[0057] Messages destined for the CPFR 217 are typically real-time,high-priority data flows dealing with call processing, with minimalmanagement traffic. As further shown in the NIP LAN site 200 a of FIG.2, these call processing messages flow via lines 221 into the CPFR 217particularly from a CS 220 from the Call Transmission Network (“CTN”)network. Additional traffic into the CPFR include messages from a remoteATS 205 over lines 207, destined for the GDS 295. Other types of trafficmay be routed from the Cisco 7513 router 290 into the CPFR 217 via line209. Outgoing message flows from the CPFR 217 are primarily from the CSto the CTN network, and, from the ATS to a remote GDS via lines 208.

[0058] Example message flows to be routed within the CPFR 217 include,but are not limited to, the following: messages from the CS 220 to theTS 204 (and reverse) and messages routed from the TS 204 to an ATS 205via the CPFR 217; messages from the CS 220 to the TS 204 via the CPFR217 and routed from the TS 204 to an 800 call processing server 216 viathe CPFR 217 (and reverse); messages (multicast) between atransaction/advanced transaction server 204/205 and the SS 230 via thePFR 247 and the GIGAswitch 250; messages between a CS 220 and a localGDS 295 at the same site by way of the TS 204, the ATS 205, and the CPFR217 (and reverse); messages between a CS 220 and a GDS 295 at a remotesite by way of the TS 204, the ATS 205, the CPFR 217 to the router 290and from the router via an OC3 connection to a first ATM BPX switch 275a associated with NIP LAN site, e.g., site 200 a, and through a PVC pipe(represented by ATM cloud 105) to a second ATM BPX switch 275 bassociated with remote NIP LAN site, e.g., site 200 b, to a router 290at the remote site via an OC3 connection and finally to the remote GDS295 through CPFR 217 at the remote site; and, messages between a SS 220and a RS 292 at a remote site by way of the GIGAswitch 250 to the router290 and from the router via an OC3 connection to a first ATM BPX switch275 a associated with NIP LAN site, e.g., site 200 a, and through a PVCpipe (represented by ATM cloud 105) to a second ATM BPX switch 275 bassociated with remote NIP LAN site, e.g., site 200 b, to a router 290at the remote site via an OC3 connection and finally to the remote RS292 via the GIGAswitch 250 at the remote site. As will be appreciated byskilled artisans, messages are contained within the FDDI ring 217 viathe token matching mechanism with each station on the ring receiving thepassed token with each message. If the token does not match thatstation's token, the token/message is passed on to the next station.Once the token matches the station token address, the IP address of themessage is matched to an IP port address. Messages meant to leave thering are sent to the gateway, which is the Rules Based Router (RBR),i.e., a server acting as a router.

[0059] As further shown in FIG. 2, messages destined for the PFR 247 aretypically provisioning and support data flows. The PFR 247 consists ofthe FDDI hubs and the GIGAswitches 250 a,b, which together form thelogical FDDI ring. That is, the GIGAswitches are a logical extension ofthe FDDI ring and provide for the configuration and monitoring of theGeoLAN FDDI hubs. As deduced from FIG. 2, example message flowsinvolving the PFR 247 may include: TS 204 to SS 230 (PFR) multicast; ATS205 to SS (PFR) multicast; from varied systems to an ADP 235 (PFR andGIGAswitch); from varied systems to the ACP 240 (PFR and GIGAswitch); HPOpenview Manager server 248 (PFR and GIGAswitch) from network devices;NM On-site 266 from ADP 235 and BEDS-FEDS (local is GIGAswitch only); IPVPB (local is GIGAswitch only) which is a separate box for theIntelligent Peripheral; SS 230 to RS 292 (local is GIGAswitch only);BEDS to TS/ATS (PFR and GIGAswitch); MCSS to FEDS; FEDS to FEDS; and,the ADP 235 to a Network Manager Remote (NMR).

[0060] As the majority of the traffic from outside of the PFR 247 isexpected on the cross WAN, SS to RS data transfer, e.g., which isapproximately 7 Mb every minute, with a less than 4 second deliverywindow, the NIP architecture is sized for three such transactionssimultaneously. The same applies to message flow out of the PFR. Withrespect to provisioning and support data message flows within the PFRring 247, these messages typically include, but are not limited to:flows between the TS and SS (PFR); ATS to SS (PFR); from varied systemsto the ADP (via PFR and GIGAswitch); from varied systems to ACP (via PFRand GIGAswitch); HP Openview server (via PFR and GIGAswitch); NMOn-site; BEDS-FEDS (local is GIGAswitch only); IP VPB (local isGIGAswitch only); SS to RS (local is GIGAswitch only); and BEDS toTS/ATS (via PFR and GIGAswitch).

[0061] As mentioned above, the PFR 247 is physically split betweenGeoLAN hubs 260 a and GIGAwitches 250. This split of the PFR into GeoLANhubs 260 a and GIGAwitches 250 allows the ring to carry more trafficthan a traditional FDDI ring. The GIGAswitches add more FDDI ports tothe ring, without additional ring latency increases. Adding new subnetsor LAN segments off of the GIGAswitches do not necessarily require therouters.

[0062] Furthermore, as described in aforementioned co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/444,099, the NIP is logically configuredto meet Real-Time call processing traffic (e.g., CS-TS), ATS-GDStraffic, and provisioning traffic requirements. Real-Time callprocessing traffic, ATS-GDS traffic, and provisioning traffic each havediffering latency requirements. In order to meet these differingrequirements, subnets are employed to separate the traffic types withinthe LAN and WAN, as desired. Each subnet enables the assignment ofspecific traffic types to specific interfaces on network devices. Theseinterfaces are to be optimised in various ways (e.g., using NetFlow).Additionally, segregated traffic may be directed to specific PVCs in theATM WAN cloud 105 (FIG. 1), with each PVC further configured usingpriority rate queuing in the BPX. These optimising configurationsenables the tuning of the NIP LAN/WAN to deliver specific traffic typesin the most mission efficient manner.

[0063] For example, the mission traffic profiles include the following,but are not limited to: real-time call processing (e.g., CS-TS traffic),ATS-GDS traffic, provisioning traffic, and even a dedicated subnet forSS-RS traffic. The creation of the PVCs for the WAN also necessitatesthe allocation of another subnet. As shown in FIG. 2, each subnet(indicated by the number in the left column) is allocated a mission,detailed below. TABLE 1 Subnet Missions IP No. Subnet Mission 1Real-Time Call Processing Traffic 2 ATS-GDS Real-Time Call ProcessingTraffic 3 Provisioning Traffic (this will consist of three separateentire class C addresses, and is not an actual subnet of the threepreviously defined class C addresses) 4 SS-RS Traffic 5 WAN Primary LinkPVCs (out of the XX.YYY.ZZ.0 address space) 6 WAN Secondary Link PVC(out of the XX.YYY.ZZ + 1.0 address space) 7 Allocated as a separate setof Class C addresses for the IP 8 Allocated for IP Ethernet ManagementRail

[0064] The PVCs for the ATM WAN likewise fall in the followingcategories: real-time call processing (ATS-GDS), provisioning trafficand SS-RS data transfers. Traffic which does not explicitly fall into agiven category defaults to the provisioning PVC. The priority ratequeuing figures for the real-time and provisioning traffic may bederived in accordance with conventional techniques known to skilledartisans. For example, the SS-RS traffic may be given the full bandwidthof an E-3 link (34 Mbps link) to facilitate the data transfer and meetthe application's timing requirements.

[0065] The benchmark topology 400 for testing the NIP LAN/WAN productionsite (of FIG. 2) according to one embodiment of the invention is nowdescribed herein in view of FIG. 3. The high-level configurationdepicted in FIG. 3 is exemplary as it is configured to provide only thecorrect numbers and types of interfaces and network paths so that therequired tests may be completed. It is understood that a benchmark testset-up may be provided which may completely duplicate a production site(e.g., of FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3, for testing purposes, each of thefollowing systems corresponding to a server device implemented in theNIP LAN/WAN architecture network, and may be physically implemented, forexample, by a DEC Alpha series server device. These blocks include:system A (FEDS); system B (GDS); system C (ATS); system D (TS); system E(CS); system F (RS, SS); and system T (Remote GDS). Systems G, H and Iincludes a Cisco 7513 Router; while systems K, J and L are theGIGASwitches. Systems P and Q are the call provisioning FDDI ring GeoLanHubs while systems R and S are the call processing FDDI ring GeoLan Hub.Systems M and N are the BPX traffic shaping switches.

[0066] According to a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, thebenchmark test system of the invention implements a test tool 500,herein referred to as a Network Path Test Tool (“NPT”) which, in itsmost simple mode, sends packets to a targeted remote system, andreceives returned packets. The NPT tool 500 logs the returning packets,and compares timestamps to determine the length of the round trip.Preferably, the tool runs in user mode, and assembles packets that arethen passed onto an IP socket interface. The NPT tool may send eitherTCP or UDP packets, and supports the TCP_NODELAY socket option. Anoptional file specification may cause the contents of the file to bepassed along as payload data within each packet.

[0067] As will be further described herein, for more complex testing,the NPT tool runs test suites including scripts which may send thepacket through a sequence of systems and back, allowing for thecomputation of round trip delays for the network along an applicationcommunication path. Furthermore, an additional script may be added tothe test suite that performs a traceroute to every interface address andhostname. The purpose of this demonstrates that the host files androuters are correctly set up, and that packets between specific systemsfollowed the correct paths. Packets are only transmitted via aninterface's primary address, the secondary address is used only forreceiving packets. This means that, for instance, real-time subnet 2traffic e.g., from the ATS, may be sent via the subnet 3 provisioninginterface. Analysis of the output of this script from each system isused to validate the router configurations.

[0068] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the NPT tool 500 comprisesone or more processes running on one or more host servers, e.g., DECalpha, and includes an NPT tool initiator process 502 and daemonprocesses 504. Specifically, the Network Path Test Tool Initiator 502provides a command line interface 505 that enables a user to specify aseries of hosts through which a data buffer will be sent. Thecharacteristics of the data buffer may be specified as well as thesending behavior and the protocol used. The buffers are timestamped andmarked with a unique sequence number before leaving the initiator. Thisstarting timestamp is later used to calculate transmit times through thespecified series of host servers 510 a, . . . ,510 n, and back to theinitiator host. The IP Network Path Test Tool Initiator 502 works inconjunction with an IP Network Path Test Tool Daemon 504 that moves thebuffer from host server to host server, according to the desired testpath, and to report the elapsed time at the final host as illustrated inFIG. 4.

[0069] According to the invention, required command line inputs for theIP Network Path Test Tool Initiator include at least one hostname andone port number. Up to 40 hostnames may be specified. Each hostname musthave a corresponding port number. Thus, for test scripts utilized by theNPT tool, the following are the required command line argumentsutilized:

[0070] -h which is an argument used for indicating the valid hostname orIP address entered as, e.g, 123.456.78.90 or, e.g., mciwcom.host.com;and,

[0071] -p which is an argument used for indicating the valid port numberon the corresponding host.

[0072] Optional command line arguments for the IP Network Path Test ToolInitiator include:

[0073] -f which is an argument used for indicating the full path andfilename of a file containing additional data to be sent. The default isno additional data;

[0074] -n which is an argument used for indicating the number ofmessages to be sent. The default is 0, to continue to send forever;

[0075] -i which is an argument used for indicating the interval betweenmessages in microseconds. The default is 0 sec., to send continuously;and,

[0076] -r which is an argument for specifying the protocol type (e.g.0=UDP 1=TCP, default=1).

[0077] The command line inputs are then validated and a message bufferto send to the host is built based on the arguments. Preferably, themessage buffer is built as follows: 4 byte remaining size (which is thetotal size of the message buffer −4); 4 byte sequence number; four (4)byte number of hosts; the number of hosts * (16 bytes containing thehost address, port, and timestamp); the host address; the host port; thetimestamp; and, the records from the payload file (if there are any).For the TCP protocol, a connection oriented streams based socket iscreated to pass the data buffer to the upstream host servers whichconnection is to the Network Path Test Tool Daemon process 504. For theUDP protocol, a connectionless datagram socket is created to the host.It is understood that all of the NPT initiator and daemon processes mustbe started running the same protocol, either TCP or UDP. Finally, thedata buffer that is generated by the initiator is sent at specificintervals for as many repetitions as specified by the command linearguments. Each time a new buffer is sent, a new sequence number andtimestamp is calculated.

[0078] The IP Network Path Test Tool Daemon process 504 works inconjunction with the IP Network Path Test Tool Initiator by providing amechanism to receive buffers from the downstream processes, timestampthe buffers, and send the buffers to upstream processes. If thisparticular process is the last in the specified series of processes,this process will calculate and display the elapsed roundtrip time ofthe buffer in microseconds.

[0079] For test scripts utilized by the NPT Tool Daemon, the followingis the required command line argument:

[0080] -p an argument indicating a valid port number.

[0081] Optional command line arguments for the IP Network Path Test ToolDaemon include:

[0082] -r an argument indicating the protocol type (e.g., 0=UDP, 1=TCP,default=1);

[0083] -d an argument indicating presence of an optional debug file forstoring sequence numbers and timestamps of buffers passing through theprocess; and,

[0084] -z an argument indicating a fork off a daemon process. Thedefault is the process is not a daemon.

[0085] The command line inputs are then validated and a socket iscreated. The type of socket created depends on what protocol is beingused. For TCP a connection oriented streams based socket is createdwhich listens for incoming connection requests, and accepts connectionrequests. For UDP a connectionless datagram socket is created.

[0086] Once the socket to the downstream process has been created, thedata buffer received from the downstream process is processed and sentto the next process in the chain (if there is one). If this is the lastprocess in the chain, then this process calculates and displays theelapsed roundtrip time of the data buffer, for example, in microseconds.It should be understood that the all processes must be started runningthe same protocol (TCP or UDP) and the final Network Path Test ToolDaemon process which calculates the elapsed time must reside on the samehost as the Network Path Test Tool Initiator process or else theresulting elapsed timestamp will not make any sense due to possibleclock differences on the various hosts. Furthermore, if the Network PathTest Tool Daemon process is run as a daemon process (i.e., daemon flagset on), error messages will not be displayed to standard terminaloutput because daemon processes are not attached to a terminal process.

[0087] An example command line illustrating a traversal from host 0 tohost 1 to host 2 back to host 1 to host 0 in accordance with scriptsfound in Appendix B is as follows:

[0088] npt -h<1^(st) host>-p2001 -h<2^(nd) host>-p2001 -h<1^(st)host>-p2002 -h<0th host>-p2002

[0089] In accordance with the benchmarks established for the NIP LAN/WANdesign of FIG. 2, and executed by the NPT tool 500 configured for testin accordance with the benchmark topology of FIG. 3, the testmethodology of the invention comprises at least the following functionaltest groups, including but not limited to: 1) Path Validation & LatencyMeasurements including tests for verifying that messages are going bythe intended paths and for measuring round trip latencies. As anexample, such test may be used to establish whether there are somehidden paths that could make the GIGAswitches disable links. Test forLAN latency are also included which will ultimately be affected by thenumber of stations on the FDDI rings; 2) Dual NIC Impact for testing theimpact of dual FDDI NIC cards in an ATS system; 3) Failover/Failback toevaluate timings for LAN/WAN component failure modes and LAN/WANcomponent failback; and, 4) High Load Multiple Data Set Network Impacttest for verifying real-time, provisioning and SS-RS data across theWAN.

Path Validation & Latency Measurements

[0090] As mentioned above, a critical benchmark test includes the PathValidation & Latency Measurements test. According to the invention, thefollowing tests are configured to ensure that traffic uses the intendednetwork paths: a) CS-CPFR-TS which verifies basic Communications Server(CS) to Transaction Server (TS) connectivity path through the CallProcessing FDDI Ring (CPFR) such as illustrated in FIG. 5(a). As theunderlying technology is reliable and mature, this test is for latencydata; b) a CS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS test which verifies performance of theconnectivity path from CS to TS over subnet 1, and then from TS to theATS via subnet 2, such as illustrated in FIG. 6(a); c) a CS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-GDS (local) test which verifies performance of thecommunications path from the CS to the local GDS, such as shown in FIG.7(a); d) a CS-CPFR-TS- CPFR-ATS-CPFR-Cisco 7513 FDDI-Cisco 7513ATM-BPX-BPX- Cisco 7513 ATM- Cisco 7513 FDDI-CPFR-GDS (remote) testwhich verifies performance of the worst case real time connectivity pathto a remote GDS such as shown in FIG. 8(a); e) a TS-PFR-GIGAswitch-SStest which verifies performance of the connectivity path from the TS tothe SS via the PFR and GIGAswitch such as shown in FIG. 9(a), and whichconfiguration may be considered identical to that using an ATS from anetwork point of view; f) a FEDS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco7513-GIGAswitch -BEDS test which verifies performance of theconnectivity path from the FEDS across WAN path to the distant FEDS,such as illustrated in FIG. 10(a); g) a SS- GIGAswitch-Cisco7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-RS test which verifies performance ofthe connectivity path from the SS to RS path across the WAN such asshown in FIG. 11(a); h) a LAN High Load R/T test for verifying theimpact of flooding the Call Processing LAN with real-time traffic; i) aLAN High Load Provisioning test for verifying the impact of flooding theProvisioning LAN with provisioning traffic; j) a WAN High Load R/T testfor verifying the impact of flooding the WAN with real-time traffic; k)a WAN High Load Provisioning test for verifying the impact of floodingthe WAN with real-time traffic; and, l) a WAN High Load SS-RS test forverifying the impact of flooding the WAN with SS-RS traffic.

[0091] Preparation for each test includes the following procedures: Foreach server, e.g., DEC Alpha, used in the test, the following testdirectories are created: /test, /test/data, /test/store, /test/scriptsand /test/bin. The NPT daemon and initiator executables are then placedon each server in the /test/bin directory, and the test scripts areplaced on each server in the /test/scripts directory. For UNIX serverdevices, the default UNIX path is set to include /test/bin and/test/scripts. Each server is configured with the IP addresses for eachsite as shown in Appendix A with verification of all each network deviceconfiguration.

[0092] Each of the above mentioned tests will now be described testswill now be described in further detail. Particularly, FIG. 5(a)illustrates the logical test configuration for the CS-CPFR-TSconnectivity path which verifies successful packet transfer from CS toTS over the FDDI, with no extraneous routes, via subnet 1 (IP_(—)1)addresses. According to one embodiment of the CS-CPFR-TS benchmark testmethodology of the invention, 100 messages are transmitted at 10millisecond intervals from the CS directed to the TS, which are thendirected back to the CS. After starting NPT test Daemons on systems Eand D (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt, as provided inAppendix B, this test methodology is initiated on system E in accordancewith test scripts entitled case11d (delay) and case11nd (no delay), theexample scripts being provided in Appendix B. The round trip times formessages traversing this path according to these example test scriptsare recorded. All tests may be performed twice, with the TCP delay onand TCP delay off. FIGS. 5(b) and 5(c) illustrate the packet delayresults incurred for the example tests that measure round trip timesfrom the CS to the TS, then back to the CS with a delay option (FIG.5(b)) and no-delay option (FIG. 5(c)). As shown in. FIG. 5(b) there isillustrated the packet delays incurred for messages sent by notutilizing the TCP_NODELAY socket option, i.e., with delay. As shown inthe CS-TS results of FIG. 5(b), cyclic pattern in the roundtrip timessuggests a buffer related mechanism may be at work. As shown in FIG.5(c), the roundtrip times recorded are in the sub-millisecond rangewhich indicates normal expected LAN performance for this type oftraffic.

[0093]FIG. 6(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theCS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS connectivity path which verifies successful packettransfer from the CS to ATS with no extraneous routes and, thesuccessful transition of the packets from subnet 1 to subnet 2.According to one embodiment of the CS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS benchmark testmethodology of the invention, 100 messages are transmitted at 10millisecond intervals from the CS to the TS (via the CPFR) whichredirects the message packets to ATS which finally returns packets tothe CS via the traversed route. After starting NPT test Daemons onsystems C, E and D (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt,provided in Appendix B, this test methodology is initiated on system Ein accordance with executable test scripts entitled case12d (delay) andcase12nd (no delay) scenarios, with example scripts being provided inAppendix B. The round trip times for messages traversing this pathaccording to these example test scripts are recorded. FIGS. 6(b) and6(c) illustrate the results of the example tests for measuring the roundtrip times from the CS to the TS to the ATS, then back to the CS with adelay option (FIG. 6(b)) and no-delay option (FIG. 6(c)). Recordedroundtrip times in the 1-2 ms range for a three-system roundtrip is wellwithin the desirable performance requirements and is clearly met asshown in the test results for the no delay option illustrated in FIG.6(c).

[0094]FIG. 7(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theCS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-GDS (local) connectivity path which verifiessuccessful packet transfer from CS to GDS with no extraneous routes and,the successful transition of the packet from subnet 1 to subnet 2.According to one embodiment of the CS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-GDS (local)benchmark test methodology of the invention, 100 messages aretransmitted at 10 millisecond intervals from the CS directed to the TSwhich redirects test message packets to ATS which ATS redirects testmessage packets to GDS (local) which finally returns packets to the CSvia traversed route. After starting NPT test Daemons on systems B, C, Eand D (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt, provided inAppendix B, this test methodology is initiated on system E in accordancewith executable test scripts entitled case13d (delay) and case13nd (nodelay) scenarios, with example scripts being provided in Appendix B. Theround trip times for messages traversing this path according to theseexample test scripts are recorded. FIGS. 7(b) and 7(c) illustrate thepacket delay results incurred for the example tests of measuring theround trip times from the CS-TS-ATS-GDS (local) with a delay option(FIG. 7(b)) and without the delay option (FIG. 7(c)).

[0095]FIG. 8(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theCS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-Cisco 7513 FDDI-Cisco 7513 ATM-BPX-BPX- Cisco7513 ATM- Cisco 7513 FDDI-CPFR-GDS (remote) connectivity path forverifying successful packet transfer from a CS to remote GDS over theWAN, with no extraneous routes, using subnet 2 (real-time callprocessing traffic). According to one embodiment of theCS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-Cisco 7513 FDDI-Cisco 7513 ATM-BPX-BPX- Cisco7513 ATM- Cisco 7513 FDDI-CPFR-GDS (remote) benchmark test methodologyof the invention, 100 messages are transmitted at 10 millisecondintervals from the CS directed to the TS which redirects message packetsto ATS which redirects the message packets to the GDS (remote) whichfinally returns packets to the CS via the traversed route. Afterstarting NPT test Daemons on systems T, C, E and D (see FIG. 3) usingexecutable script startnpt, provided in Appendix B, this testmethodology is initiated on system E in accordance with executable testscript entitled case14d (delay) and case14nd (no delay), with examplescripts being provided in Appendix B. The round trip times for messagestraversing this path according to these example test scripts arerecorded. FIGS. 8(b) and 8(c) illustrate the packet delay resultsincurred for the example tests of measuring the round trip times fromthe CS-TS-ATS-GDS (remote) with a delay option (FIG. 8(b)) and withoutthe delay option (FIG. 8(c)).

[0096]FIG. 9(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theTS-PFR-GIGAswitch-SS connectivity path for verifying successful packettransfer from a TS to an SS with no extraneous routes via subnet 3(Provisioning traffic). According to one embodiment of theTS-PFR-GIGAswitch-SS benchmark test methodology of the invention, 1000messages (300 octets) are transmitted at 500 microsecond intervals fromthe TS directed to the SS which SS redirects the message packets back tothe TS. After starting NPT test Daemons on systems C and A (see FIG. 3)using executable script startnpt, provided in Appendix B, this testmethodology is initiated on system C in accordance with executable testscripts entitled case15d (delay) and case15nd (no delay), with examplescripts being provided in Appendix B. The packet delay results incurredfor the example tests of measuring the round trip times for messagestraversing this path according to these example test scripts arerecorded such as shown in FIG. 9(b) (with delay) and 9( c) (withoutdelay).

[0097]FIG. 10(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theFEDS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-Remote FEDSconnectivity path for verifying successful packet transfer from a FEDSserver to a BEDS server over the FDDI, with no extraneous routes, usingsubnet 3 (IP_(—)3) (provisioning traffic). According to one embodimentof the FEDS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-RemoteFEDS benchmark test methodology of the invention, 100 messages aretransmitted at 1 second intervals from the FEDS directed to the BEDSwhich returns the packets to the originating FEDS. After starting NPTtest Daemons on systems F and A (see FIG. 3) using executable scriptstartnpt, this test methodology is initiated on system C in accordancewith executable test scripts entitled case16d (delay) and case16nd (nodelay), with example scripts being provided in Appendix B. FIGS. 10(b)and 10(c) illustrate the packet delay results incurred when measuringthe round trip times from the FEDS-Remote FEDS with a delay option (FIG.10(b)) and without the delay option (FIG. 10(c)) according to theseexample test scripts.

[0098]FIG. 11(a) illustrates the logical test configuration for theSS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-RS connectivitypath for verifying successful packet transfer from the SS to the RS overthe WAN using subnet 4 (IP_(—)4). According to one embodiment of theSS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-RS benchmark testmethodology of the invention, 10 messages of 7 Mbytes each, for example,are transmitted at 10 second intervals from the SS to the RS whichredirects the messages back to the SS. After starting NPT test Daemonson systems F and A (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt, thistest methodology is initiated on system A in accordance with executabletest scripts entitled case17d (delay) and case17nd (no delay), withexample scripts being provided in Appendix B. FIGS. 11(b) and 11(c)illustrate the packet delay results incurred when a test is run with adelay option (FIG. 11(b)) and without the delay option (FIG. 11(c))according to these example test scripts.

[0099] Further path validation and latency benchmark testing includes atest for verifying the impact of flooding the Call Processing LAN withreal-time traffic (High load LAN latency, R/T traffic). For this test,reference is further made to the CS-CPFR-TS test connectivity pathillustrated in FIG. 5(a). According to one embodiment of the CPFR LANreal-time high load traffic benchmark test methodology of the invention,10,000 (204 byte) messages at 1 microsecond intervals are transmitted tothe target system with the round trip times for example messagestraversing this path recorded. Particularly, after starting NPT testDaemons on systems E and D (see FIG. 3) using executable scriptstartnpt, as provided in Appendix B, this test methodology is initiatedon system E in accordance with test scripts entitled case18d (delay) andcase18nd (no delay), the example scripts being provided in Appendix B.FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b) illustrate the path latency (measured in ms)results when the example tests are run with a delay option (FIG. 12(a))and without the delay option (FIG. 12(b)) according to these exampletest scripts. Successful performance criteria for this test includesreceiving messages with latencies less than a predetermined timeoutwindow.

[0100] Another benchmark test includes a test for verifying the impactof flooding the Provisioning LAN with provisioning traffic (High loadLAN latency, Provisioning traffic). For this test, reference is made tothe TS-PFR-GIGAswitch-SS test connectivity path illustrated in FIG.9(a). According to one embodiment of the PFR LAN high load provisioningtraffic benchmark test methodology of the invention, 10,000 2,040 bytemessages at 1 microsecond intervals are transmitted to the target systemwith the round trip times for example messages traversing this pathrecorded. Particularly, after starting NPT test Daemons on systems C andA (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt, this test methodologyis initiated on system C in accordance with executable test scriptsentitled case19d (delay) and case19nd (no delay), with example scriptsbeing provided in Appendix B. Successful performance criteria for thistest includes receiving messages. FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) illustrate thepath latency (measured in ms) results for the LAN High Load provisioningtraffic tests with a delay option (FIG. 13(a)) and without the delayoption (FIG. 13(b)) according to these example test scripts. It isunderstood that as long as messages are received, the test is consideredsuccessful.

[0101] Further benchmark testing includes a test for verifying theimpact of flooding the WAN with real-time traffic (High load WANlatency, R/T traffic). For this test, reference is made only to the ATSto GDS portion of the CS-CPFR-TS-CPFR-ATS-CPFR-Cisco 7513 FDDI-Cisco7513 ATM-BPX-BPX- Cisco 7513 ATM- Cisco 7513 FDDI-CPFR-GDS (remote)connectivity path illustrated in FIG. 8(a). According to one embodimentof the WAN High Load R/T benchmark test methodology of the invention,10,000 (204 byte) messages at 1 microsecond intervals are transmitted tothe target system with the round trip times for example messagestraversing this path recorded. Particularly, after starting NPT testDaemons on systems C and T (see FIG. 3) using executable scriptstartnpt, this test methodology is initiated on system C in accordancewith executable test scripts entitled case110d (delay) and case110nd (nodelay), with example scripts being provided in Appendix B. FIGS. 14(a)and 14(b) illustrate the path latency results for the PFR WAN Real-TimeHigh Load provisioning traffic tests when run with a delay option (FIG.14(a)) and without the delay option (FIG. 14(b)) according to theseexample test scripts. Successful performance criteria for this testincludes receiving messages with latencies less than a predeterminedtimeout window.

[0102] Another benchmark test includes a test for verifying the impactof flooding the Provisioning WAN with provisioning traffic (High loadWAN latency, Provisioning traffic). For this test, reference is made tothe FEDS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-Remote FEDSconnectivity path illustrated in FIG. 10(a). According to one embodimentof the WAN High Load Provisioning traffic benchmark test methodology ofthe invention, 10,000 2,040 byte messages are transmitted at 1microsecond intervals to the target system with the round trip times forexample messages traversing this path recorded. Particularly, afterstarting NPT test Daemons on systems F and A (see FIG. 3) usingexecutable script startnpt, this test methodology is initiated on systemA in accordance with executable test scripts entitled case111d (delay)and case111nd (no delay), with example scripts being provided inAppendix B. FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) illustrate the path latency resultsfor the WAN Real-Time High Load provisioning traffic tests with a delayoption (FIG. 15(a)) and without the delay option (FIG. 15(b)) accordingto these example test scripts. Successful performance criteria for thistest includes receiving messages.

[0103] Further benchmark testing includes a test for verifying theimpact of flooding the WAN with SS-RS traffic. For this test, referenceis made to the SS-GIGAswitch-Cisco 7513-BPX-BPX-Cisco 7513-GIGAswitch-RSconnectivity path (subnet I_(—)4) illustrated in FIG. 11(a). Accordingto one embodiment of the WAN High Load SS-RS benchmark test methodologyof the invention, 200 seven (7 Mbyte) messages are transmitted at 1microsecond intervals to the target system with the round trip times forexample messages traversing this path recorded. such as shown in FIG.16(a) and 16(b). Particularly, after starting NPT test Daemons onsystems A and F (see FIG. 3) using executable script startnpt, providedin Appendix B, this test methodology is initiated on systems A inaccordance with executable test scripts entitled case112d (delay) andcase112nd (no delay), with example scripts being provided in Appendix B.FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) illustrate the path latency results incurred forthe WAN Statistics High Load traffic tests with a delay option (FIG.16(a)) and without the delay option (FIG. 16(b)).

[0104] A further benchmark test is provided for the purpose ofdemonstrating the performance of real-time packets between the ATS and(remote) GDS across the real-time PVC, while the provisioning andstatistics PVC's are fully loaded. This represents a worst-case loadingfor the systems, routers and PVCs in the network of FIG. 2. Theconfiguration for this WAN real-time, provisioning and statistics ultrahigh load test is depicted as the ATS to remote GDS portion of FIG.8(a). For this test case, five servers were implemented, three serversof which functioning to send provisioning traffic (2040 byte messages),real time traffic (204 byte messages) and statistics traffic (7 Mbmessages) simultaneously. One instance of each type of message from eachserver, across the WAN to two target servers, one to receive theprovisioning and real-time data, the other to receive the statisticsdata. A successful performance measure of this case is that no packetsare lost, and real-time packet latency is unaffected. For example,during testing, the provisioning and statistics BPX PVCs may bemonitored at levels up to 70% utilized, with no data loss.

Dual NIC Cards

[0105] As mentioned above, a critical benchmark test includes the DualNIC Impact test for testing the impact of dual FDDI NIC cards in an ATSsystem, i.e., measuring the effect on system resources of adding asecond FDDI interface to an alpha system. According to the invention,the Dual NIC Impact test is configured to verify the following: a) thatdual homing onto two double FDDI rings simultaneously works (i.e., maysend/receive messages from both FDDI rings at the same time); b) verifythe benchmark CPU overhead (dual vs single FDDI NIC); and, c) verify thebenchmark I/O overhead (dual vs single FDDI NIC).

[0106]FIG. 17 illustrates the logical test configuration 399 for theDual NIC Impact test according to the preferred embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 17, a transaction server (TS) 402, e.g., DECAlphaServer 388 is interfaced with multiple, e.g., four GeoLAN Hubs (twoFDDI interfaces) 410 a, . . . ,410 d. The testing involves utilizing ascript to enable the NPT tool to set up multiple transfers, first splitbetween two physical interfaces, and then the same transfers through asingle interface. A “Vmstat” utility is used to collect performance dataduring the NPT test run. According to the Dual NIC Impact test, thefollowing parameters are observed on the TS system 402 during thetesting: a) throughput, in octets per second; b) total CPU utilizationon the AlphaServer from all sources; c) CPU utilization by the systemkernel of the AlphaServer; d) I/O rates for the FDDI cards in theAlphaServer; and, e) latency across the FDDI rings (end to end acrossthe workstations' network stacks, including the NIC).

[0107] According to the preferred embodiment, the guideline for Dual NICimpact testing includes the following steps: Start vmstat on allservers, and direct output to a file; send a range of message rates toand from the AlphaServer 4100 simultaneously to and from two servers(Dual NIC Full-Duplex); and send a range of message rates to and fromboth servers to the AlphaServer 4100 (Dual NIC-Transmit and Receive).Traffic between server A and the AlphaServer 4100 may be 200 octets ofapplication data (+IP overheads)—for simulating real-time traffic in theNIP configuration, and, traffic between server B and the AlphaServer4100 may be a mixture of 200 octet messages and the maximum message sizewhich IP supports for simulating non-real-time traffic (e.g. call plandownloads). Message rates may range from low load up to and beyond themaximum designed call processing capacity. Preferably, the tests are runfor approximately 10 minutes each with five iterations of each testbeing run, in order to provide a confidence level for the test results.

[0108] For a Dual NIC Transmit (High Load) test case scenario thefollowing steps are performed: Referring to FIG. 3, server B is firstconnected to the GeoLAN FDDI hub P; a vmstat script stat541 provided inAppendix B, is initiated on system C for directing the output to a file.The NPT daemons are then started on systems B, C and D using scriptstartnpt. Then, the script case541txhigh is started on system C whichscript is provided in Appendix B. After about ten (10) minutes, in apreferred embodiment, the npt is stopped on system C.

[0109] For a Dual NIC Receive (High Load) test case scenario thefollowing steps are performed: Referring to FIG. 3, server B is firstconnected to the GeoLAN FDDI hub P; a vmstat script stat542, provided inAppendix B, is initiated on system C for directing the output to a file.The NPT daemons are then started on systems B, C and D using scriptstartnpt. Then, a script case542rxhighp is started on system B and ascript case542rxhighc is started on system D by coordinated consoleactions. After about ten (10) minutes, in a preferred embodiment, thenpt is stopped on systems B and D.

[0110] For a Dual NIC Full Duplex (High Load) test case scenario thefollowing steps are performed: Referring to FIG. 3, server B is firstconnected to the GeoLAN FDDI hub P; a vmstat script stat543, provided inAppendix B, is initiated on system C for directing the output to a file.The NPT daemons are then started on systems B, C and D using scriptstartnpt. Then, a script case543fdhighp is started on system B and ascript case543fdhighc is started on system D by coordinated consoleactions. After about ten (10) minutes, in a preferred embodiment, thenpt is stopped on systems B and D. Preferably, the dual NIC procedure isrepeated several times, e.g., three times, at each of three packetoutput rates: 2K output (4K total I/O), 4K output (8K total I/O), and 6Koutput (12K total I/O).

Failover/Failback

[0111] As mentioned above, a critical benchmark test includes thefailover/failback tests for determining failover and failback times foreach single component failure. The configuration for these sets of testsare similar to the benchmark topology for the LAN path and latencytests. In the LAN path and latency tests, the goal was to check if thetraffic was using the expected routes. In the failover and failbacktests, the aim is to measure failover times for each communicationscomponent. Successful failover/failback criteria are based on parametersincluding response times (before, during, and after failover), failovertime to backup device, failback times from failback device to newlyrecovered primary device. Additionally, the effect on link status androuting may be monitored. Absolute success is determined by the observeddata. For example, failover recovery times exceeding two (2) seconds isdeemed excessive. Any detrimental effect on LAN/WAN routing capability,e.g., the inducement of unacceptable routes in failure recoveryattempts, is additionally deemed unacceptable.

[0112] In the preferred embodiment, the failover and failback tests arestructured so that each single communications component is failed inturn with each failed component being brought back into service tomeasure failback times. The components targeted for failure include: theGeoLAN hub to GeoLAN hub; the Gigaswitch (use the data from the IPtesting); the GIGAswitch to GeoLAN link; and, the 7513 router.Particularly, for the test scenarios, a constant stream of real-timetraffic is provided between two (2) of these components and the impactof failover and failback on response times is measured when a componentis failed.

[0113] A first set of tests is devised to measure failover to backupperformance including: 1) a failure from the primary GeoLAN to thebackup GeoLAN under message loading of 100 messages per second; 2) afailure from the primary GIGAswitch to the backup GIGAswitch undermessage loading of 100 messages per second; 3) a failure from theprimary GIGAswitch to GeoLAN link to the backup GIGAswitch to GeoLANlink under message loading of 100 messages per second; and, 4) a failurefrom the primary Cisco 7513 router to the backup Cisco 7513 router undermessage loading of 100 messages per second.

[0114] A second set of tests is devised to measure failback to primaryperformance including: 1) a failure from the primary GeoLAN to thebackup GeoLAN under message loading of 100 messages per second, and,after recovery of the primary system, failback to the primary; 2) afailure from the primary GIGAswitch to the backup GIGAswitch undermessage loading of 100 messages per second and, after recovery of theprimary system, failback to the primary; 3) a failure from the primaryGIGAswitch to the GeoLAN link to the backup GIGAswitch to GeoLAN linkunder message loading of 100 messages per second, and then failback;and, 4) a failure from the primary Cisco 7513 router to the backup Cisco7513 router under message loading of 100 messages per second, and, afterrecovery of the primary system, failback to the primary.

[0115] With respect to the first set of tests for measuring failover tobackup performance, a first test case is implemented for testing primaryGeoLAN to the backup GeoLAN failover performance. For this first testcase, a hub power failure is implemented as the primary GeoLAN to thebackup GeoLAN failure, e.g., by removing power to the GeoLAN. The neteffect of this failover is to fail the hub and the interfaces on theservers. The hardware setup comprises two Alphaservers and two GeoLANhubs (reference is had to FIG. 3). The NPT tool is configured to sendreal-time messages of 204 octets once per millisecond, using the UDPprotocol. Particularly, the test is as follows: in a first step, hubs Pand Q are disconnected from the GIGAswitch (FIG. 3). Next, servers B andC are dual home connected to hubs P and Q, ensuring the B port forservers B and C goes to hub P. Then, nptd test script startnptdudp isthen started (in UDP mode) on servers B and C such as provided inAppendix B. Then script case5111 is executed on server B for generatinga stream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, hub P is powereddown five (5) seconds after starting script case5111. After 10 seconds,the npt tool is stopped on server B. Finally, a “ps” (process status)command is performed that requests a list of all processes running onthe systems. This list is then piped to a “grep” command, (Get RegularExpression), which looks for lines containing the string npt, and printsthose lines to screen. These lines contain the process ID. Then, theprocess ID taken from the previous step is terminated, without recourseby the process, by executing a kill command.

[0116] In an example test run, the net effect of the failover resultedin no messages being lost. However, several messages were delayed, e.g.,starting with a 25 millisecond delay on the first message, withsubsequent messages' delays shortening in a linear fashion to the normallatency period.

[0117] For the second test case, an interface disconnect failure isimplemented as the primary GeoLAN to the backup GeoLAN failure, e.g., byremoving the “B” port connection to the receiving server on the primaryhub and inducing failback after the initial failover recovery. The NPTtool is configured to send real-time messages of 204 octets once permillisecond, for example, using the UDP protocol. Particularly, the testis as follows: in a first step, hubs P and Q are disconnected from theGIGAswitch (FIG. 3). Next, servers B and C are dual home connected tohubs P and Q, ensuring the B port for servers B and C goes to hub P.Then, the nptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode) on servers B and Cimplementing the script startnptdudp such as provided in Appendix B.Then script case5112 is executed on server B for generating a stream of100 messages/second, for example. Then, port “B” is disconnected on hubP connected to server B five (5) seconds after starting script case5112.After 10 seconds, the npt tool is stopped on server B. Finally, theabove-described “ps” (process status), “grep” command, and kill commandsare executed.

[0118] For the next series of cases in this first test set, primaryGIGAswitch to backup GIGAswitch failover performance is tested. For thefirst test case, a switch power failure is induced Particularly, thetest is as follows: in a first step, servers A and B are dual homeconnected to switches J and K, ensuring the B port for each server A andB goes to switch J. Next, the nptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode)on servers A and B using script startnptdudp such as provided inAppendix B. Then, script case5121 is executed on server B for generatinga stream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, switch J is powereddown about five (5) seconds after starting the case5121 script. After 10seconds, the npt tool is terminated on server B. Finally, theabove-described “ps” (process status), “grep” command, and kill commandsare executed.

[0119] For the next test case, primary GIGAswitch to backup GIGAswitchfailover performance is tested when inducing an interface disconnectfailure while the NPT tool is configured to send real-time messagesusing the UDP protocol. Particularly, in a first step, servers A and Bare dual home connected to switches J and K, ensuring the B port foreach server A and B goes to hub P. Then, the nptd test daemon is started(in UDP mode) on servers A and B implementing the script startnptdudp.Then script case5122 is executed on server B for generating a stream of100 messages/second, for example. Then, port “B” is disconnected fromswitch J connected to server B five (5) seconds after starting scriptcase5122. After 10 seconds, the npt tool is stopped on server B.Finally, the above-described “ps” (process status), “grep” command, andkill commands are executed.

[0120] For the next series of cases in this first test set, primaryGIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link to Backup GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link failoverperformance is measured. For the first test case of this series, aswitch power failure is induced by removing power to the switch.Particularly, the test is as follows: in a first step, server B is dualhome connected to switches J and K, ensuring the B port for server Bgoes to switch J. It is additionally ensured that the A and B ports onhubs P and Q are connected to M ports on GIGAswitches J and K. Next, thenptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode) on servers B and C usingscript startnptdudp. Then, script case5131 is executed on server B forgenerating a stream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, switch Jis powered down about five (5) seconds after starting the case5131script. After 10 seconds, the npt tool is terminated on server B.Finally, the above-described “ps” (process status), “grep” command, andkill commands are executed.

[0121] For the next test case, primary GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link toBackup GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link failover performance is measured wheninducing an interface disconnect failure. Particularly, the test is asfollows: in a first step, server B is dual home connected to switches Jand K, ensuring the B port for server B goes to switch J. It isadditionally ensured that the A and B ports on hubs P and Q areconnected to M ports on GIGAswitches J and K. Next, the nptd test daemonis started (in UDP mode) on servers B and C using script startnptdudp.Then, script case5132 is executed on server B for generating a stream of100 messages/second, for example. Then, the B port is disconnected fromswitch J connected to GeoLAN P about five (5) seconds after starting thecase5132 script. After 10 seconds, the npt tool is terminated on serverB. Finally, the above-described “ps” (process status), “grep” command,and kill commands are executed.

[0122] For the next series of cases in this first set, primary Router tobackup Router failover performance is measured. In a first test case ofthis series, a router power failure is induced. Particularly, in a firststep, the nptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode) on servers A and Eusing script startnptdudp. Next, a script case5141 is executed on serverA for generating a stream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, theprimary router H is powered down five about (5) seconds after startingthe script case5141, and, about 30 seconds thereafter, the npt tool isterminated on server A. Finally, the above-described “ps” (processstatus), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0123] In an example failover test run, for example, a UDP packet streamis sent from the b1ss01 server round trip to a distant system via theCisco 7513 routers (FIG. 3). The routers were set up using HSRP as thefailover mechanism. The primary router was then powered off. Thecharacteristics of the failovers on the routers due to power lossinclude: calculation of event duration from the start of the bufferloss, e.g., at one millisecond per buffer, to the end of the bufferdelay period, where the delay returns to the nominal delay value.

[0124] For the next test case, primary Router to backup Router failoverperformance is measured when inducing an interface disconnect failure atthe router. Particularly, in a first step, the nptd test daemon isstarted (in UDP mode) on servers A and E using script startnptdudp (SeeAppendix B). Next, script case5142 is executed on server A forgenerating a stream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, both FDDIports on the primary router H are disconnected about five about (5)seconds after starting script, and, after about 30 seconds, the npt toolis terminated on server A. Finally, the “ps” (process status), “grep”command, and kill commands are executed.

[0125] With respect to the second set of tests for measuring failback toprimary performance, a first series of test cases is implemented fortesting primary GeoLAN to the backup GeoLAN failure and failback. In afirst series of tests, a hub power failure is induced, e.g., by removingpower to the GeoLAN and, a recovery is implemented by again powering upthe hub. For the first test case, reference is had to FIG. 3. In a firststep, hubs P and Q are disconnected from the GIGAswitch and, servers Band C are dual home connected to hubs P and Q, ensuring the B port foreach server B and C goes to hub P. Next, the nptd test daemon is started(in UDP mode) on servers B and C using script startnptdudp and scriptcase5211 is executed on server B for generating a stream of 100messages/second, for example. Then, the hub P is powered down about five(5) seconds after starting the case5211 script. After about 10 secondsthereafter, hub P is powered up and, after about 15 seconds thereafter,hub Q is powered down. Then, about 10 seconds after powering down hub Q,the npt tool is terminated on server B. Finally, the “ps” (processstatus), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0126] For the next test case, primary GeoLAN to the backup GeoLANfailure and failback performance is tested when inducing an interfacedisconnect, e.g., by removing the “B” port connection to the receivingserver on the primary hub and, executing recovery. Particularly, thetest is as follows: in a first step, hubs P and Q are disconnected fromthe GIGAswitch (FIG. 3). Next, servers B and C are dual home connectedto hubs P and Q, ensuring the B port for servers B and C goes to hub P.Then, the nptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode) on servers B and Cimplementing the script startnptdudp. Then, script case5212 is executedon server B for generating a stream of 100 messages/second, for example.Then, the port “B” connected to server B is disconnected from hub Pabout five (5) seconds after starting script case5212. After about 10seconds thereafter, the port B is reconnected on hub P connected toserver B and, after about 15 seconds thereafter, the port B isdisconnected on hub Q connected to server B. Then, about 10 secondsafter that, the npt tool is terminated on server B. Finally, the “ps”(process status), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0127] In an example test run, a first failure caused approximately 240messages to be lost during the failover; and, on recovery, the next 107messages are delayed, with the first message delayed by approximately250 ms with subsequent messages being delayed by shortening timeperiods. The amount of delay shortens in a linear fashion to the normallatency period.

[0128] For the next series of cases, primary GIGAswitch to backupGIGAswitch failover and failback performance is tested. In a first case,performance is measured when a switch power failure and recovery isinduced. This case entails, dual home connecting servers A and B toswitches J and K, ensuring that the B port for servers A and B goes toswitch J. Then, the nptd test daemon is started (in UDP mode) on serversA and B implementing the script startnptdudp and, script case5221 isstarted on server A for generating a stream of 100 messages/second, forexample. Next, switch J is powered down about five (5) seconds afterstarting script case5221. Then, after 10 seconds, the GIGAswitch J ispowered up. After about 15 seconds, GIGAswitch K is powered down. Then,about 10 seconds after that, the npt tool is terminated on server A.Finally, the “ps” (process status), “grep” command, and kill commandsare executed.

[0129] In an example test run, no messages were lost during the failovertest run. However, for the case of failover/failback, a series of testruns proved out that on recovery, all delays of subsequent messagesshorten in a linear fashion to the normal latency period.

[0130] For the next test case, primary GIGAswitch to backup GIGAswitchfailover and failback performance is tested when performing an interfacedisconnect and executing recovery. In a first step, servers A and B aredual home connected to switches J and K (FIG. 3), ensuring the B portfor servers A and B is connected to switch J. Then, the nptd is startedin UDP mode on servers A and B by using script startnptdudp and scriptcase5222 is started on server A for generating a stream of 100messages/second, for example. Next, the B port on switch J connected toserver A is disconnected about five (5) seconds after starting script.After about 10 seconds, the B port is reconnected on switch J connectedto server A. Then, after 15 seconds, the B port is disconnected onswitch K connected to server A, and after 10 seconds, the tool isstopped on server A. Finally, the “ps” (process status), “grep” command,and kill commands are executed.

[0131] For the next series of cases, primary GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Linkto backup GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link failover and failback performance istested. For the first case of this series, performance is measured whena switch power failure is induced. For this test, server B is dual homeconnected to switches J and K, ensuring the B port for server B goes isconnected to switch J. It is additionally ensured that the A and B portson hubs P and Q are connected to M ports on GIGAswitches J and K. Then,the nptd is started in UDP mode on servers B and C by using scriptstartnptdudp and script case5231 is started on server B for generating astream of 100 messages/second, for example. Then, switch J is powereddown 5 seconds after starting script case5231. After about 15 seconds,switch J is powered up and about 15 seconds thereafter, switch K ispowered down. Then, the npt tool is stopped on server B after about 10seconds thereafter. Finally, the “ps” (process status), “grep” command,and kill commands are executed.

[0132] For the next test case of this series, primary GIGAswitch toGeoLAN Link to backup GIGAswitch to GeoLAN Link failover and failbackperformance is tested when performing an Interface Disconnect. In afirst step, server B is dual home connected to switches J and K,ensuring the B port for servers B and C goes to switch J. It isadditionally ensured that the A and B ports on hubs P and Q areconnected to M ports on GIGAswitches J and K. Then, the nptd is startedin UDP mode on servers B and C by using script startnptdudp and scriptcase5232 is started on server B for generating a stream of 100messages/second, for example. Then, the M port on switch J connected toGeoLAN P is disconnected about five (5) seconds after starting thescript case5232. After about 15 seconds, the M port on switch J isreconnected and, about 15 seconds thereafter, the M port on switch Kconnected to GeoLAN P is disconnected. Then, the npt tool is stopped onserver B after about 10 seconds thereafter. Finally, the “ps” (processstatus), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0133] For the next series of cases, Primary Router to Backup Routerfailover and failback performance is tested. For the first case of thisseries, performance is measured when a router power failure and recoveryis induced. In a first step, the nptd is started in UDP mode on serversA and E (FIG. 3) by using script startnptdudp and script case5241 isstarted on server A for generating a stream of 100 messages/second, forexample. Then, the primary router H is powered down 5 seconds afterstarting script case5241. After about 30 seconds, router H is powered upand about 30 seconds thereafter, router I is powered down. Then, the npttool is stopped on server A about 30 seconds thereafter. Finally, the“ps” (process status), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0134] For the next test case, Primary Router to Backup Router failoverand failback performance is tested by performing an InterfaceDisconnect. In a first step, the nptd is started in UDP mode on serversA and E (FIG. 3) by using script startnptdudp and script case5242 isstarted on server A for generating a stream of 100 messages/second, forexample. Then, both FDDI ports on the primary router H are disconnectedabout five (5) seconds after starting script case5242. After about 30seconds, the FDDI ports to router H are reconnected. Then, after about15 seconds, both FDDI ports on router I are disconnected. After 15seconds, the npt tool on server A is terminated. Finally, the “ps”(process status), “grep” command, and kill commands are executed.

[0135] In an example failover/failback test run, an UDP packet stream issent from the b1ss01 server (FIG. 3) round trip to a distant system viathe Cisco 7513 routers. The routers are set up using HSRP as thefailover mechanism. The primary router then had the FDDI interfacedisconnected. The resulting characteristics of the failovers andfailback on the routers due to interface loss include a measurement ofthe event duration from the start of deviation from the nominal latencyto the recovery to the nominal latency by the total number of delayedbuffers, e.g., when transmitted at one millisecond intervals.

[0136] The novel benchmark testing methodology described herein fullyproves out the performance benefits, resiliency and redundency designedinto the NIP LAN/WAN of the invention. Functionally, the benchmarkconfiguration and test described herein proves that the LAN/WAN designof the invention successfully segments the various traffic types, bothwithin the LAN, and across the WAN. Further, it has been demonstratedthat performance of the real-time traffic, including the cross WANATS-GDS traffic, is unaffected by provisioning and statistics traffic.Real time packet latencies (all latencies are measured as round-trip)across the WAN are proven to be approximately in the 1.6 ms range,regardless of other WAN traffic levels. This does not include WANpropagation delays which measure in the 10-14 ms range on the NIPproduction sites. Without traffic segregation afforded by the networktopology of the invention, real-time packet latencies may increase above7 seconds when the links are subject to heavy loads.

[0137] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the presentinvention. Those skilled in the art will be able to devise variousmodifications, which although not explicitly described or shown herein,embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spiritand scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for validating a telecommunications callprocessing network comprising: a call processing network including avariety of application servers and network devices for simulatinghandling of call processing traffic along first segregated routescomprising one or more subnets between associated network devices, andhandling of call provisioning traffic along second segregated routescomprising one or more subnets; said first and second segregated routessegregated according to call traffic latency requirements, and test toolcapable of communicating test information packets along selectedsegregated routes in said call processing network; and mechanism formeasuring round trip latencies of communicated packets along saidselected segregated routes, whereby internetwork and intranetworklatency and subnet integrity for simulated packet traffic is verified.2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said test tool is capable ofcommunicating test packets at traffic load levels of varying severityacross said segregated routes, said test tool generating test scriptsfor generating and communicating packets along selected segregatedroutes.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said mechanism formeasuring round trip latencies includes mechanism for applying timestamp information for packets entering a call processing network pathduring validation test and for comparing timestamps of returned packetsto determine the length of a round trip path.
 4. The system according toclaim 1, further comprising interface for enabling packets to enter saidcall processing network, said interface including an IP socketinterface.
 5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said testinformation packets include TCP and UDP packets.
 6. The system accordingto claim 2, wherein said call processing network comprises: a firstlocal area network (LAN) including one or more network devices includinga first redundant high-speed network device dedicated for handling calltraffic processing packets; second LAN including one or more networkdevices including a second redundant high-speed network device dedicatedfor handling call provisioning traffic packets; and a wide area network(WAN) including one or more network devices for handling trafficdestined to a second call processing network from said call processingnetwork, said WAN including a router device and a permanent virtualconnection (PVC) established for communicating packets to a receivingdevice at said second call processing network, said segregated routesincluding one or more of: call processing routes between one or moresubnets, call processing routes between said first and second LAN, andcall processing routes across said WAN via a selected PVC.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said test tool executes scripts forproviding worst-case traffic loading for said router and PVC byproviding simultaneous real-time, provisioning and statistics packettraffic across said PVC and monitoring packet latency.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said test tool includes mechanism formonitoring effect of two redundant high-speed network device interfaceconnections receiving packets from a single application server resourcein said call processing network, said monitoring mechanism includingmeasuring CPU utilization of said server resource.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said test tool includes mechanism formonitoring failover times for a single component failure in said callprocessing network, said measuring mechanism including measuringresponse time before during and after failover under constant trafficloading conditions.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein saidtest tool includes mechanism for measuring failback times when a failedcomponent is recovered.
 11. The system according to claim 10, whereinsaid failover monitor mechanism monitors failover times when power isremoved from a redundant high-speed network device linked to anapplication server.
 12. The system according to claim 10, wherein saidfailover monitor mechanism monitors failover times when an applicationserver interface to a redundant high-speed network device isdisconnected.
 13. The system according to claim 11, wherein saidfailover monitor mechanism monitors failback times when power isrestored to a redundant high-speed network device linked to anapplication server.
 14. The system according to claim 12, wherein saidfailover monitor mechanism monitors failback times when an applicationserver interface to a redundant high-speed network device isreconnected.
 15. A method for validating a telecommunications callprocessing network comprising the steps of: interconnecting a variety ofapplication servers and network devices for simulating a call processingnetwork capable of handling call processing traffic along firstsegregated routes comprising one or more subnets between associatednetwork devices, and handling of call provisioning traffic along secondsegregated routes comprising one or more subnets; said first and secondsegregated routes segregated according to call traffic latencyrequirements, communicating test information packets along selectedsegregated routes in said call processing network; and measuring roundtrip latencies of communicated packets along said selected segregatedroutes, whereby internetwork and intranetwork latency and subnetintegrity for simulated packet traffic is verified.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 15, wherein said communicating of test packetsincludes implementing test scripts for generating and communicatingpackets along selected segregated routes, said generating step includinggenerating packet traffic load levels of varying severity across saidsegregated routes.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein saidstep of measuring round trip latencies includes: applying time stampinformation for packets entering a call processing network path duringvalidation test; and, comparing timestamps of returned packets todetermine the length of a round trip path.
 18. The method according toclaim 15, further comprising providing an interface for enabling packetsto enter said call processing network, said interface including an IPsocket interface.
 19. The method according to claim 16, wherein saidinterconnecting includes: providing a first local area network (LAN)including one or more network devices including a first redundanthigh-speed network device dedicated for handling call traffic processingpackets; providing a second LAN including one or more network devicesincluding a second redundant high-speed network device dedicated forhandling call provisioning traffic packets; providing a wide areanetwork (WAN) including one or more network devices for handling trafficdestined to a second call processing network from said call processingnetwork via a router device; and, establishing and a permanent virtualconnection (PVC) for communicating packets to a receiving device at saidsecond call processing network, wherein said segregated routes includesone or more of: call processing routes between one or more subnets, callprocessing routes between said first and second LAN, and call processingroutes across said WAN via a selected PVC.
 20. The method according toclaim 19, further including the step of executing scripts for providingworst-case traffic loading for said router and PVC by providingsimultaneous real-time, provisioning and statistics packet trafficacross said PVC and monitoring packet latency.
 21. The method accordingto claim 19, further including the step of monitoring effect of tworedundant high-speed network device interface connections for receivingpackets from a single application server resource in said callprocessing network, said monitoring mechanism including measuring CPUutilization of said server resource.
 22. The method according to claim19, further including the step of monitoring failover times for a singlecomponent failure in said call processing network, said monitoring stepincluding measuring response time before during and after failover underconstant traffic loading conditions.
 23. The method according to claim22, further including the step of measuring failback times when a failedcomponent is recovered.
 24. The method according to claim 23, furtherincluding monitoring failover times when power is removed from aredundant high-speed network device linked to an application server. 25.The method according to claim 23, further including monitoring failovertimes when an application server interface to a redundant high-speednetwork device is disconnected.
 26. The method according to claim 24,further including monitoring failback times when power is restored to aredundant high-speed network device linked to an application server. 27.The method according to claim 25, further including monitoring failbacktimes when an application server interface to a redundant high-speednetwork device is reconnected.